We were thrilled to receive 2,135 entries to our first Typography Annual. We were especially happy with the international submissions. We received work from 48 countries, 26 of which are represented in the 179 entries selected for inclusion by the jury.

"I was delighted to see so much handlettering," said juror Allan Haley. "I was treated to wonderfully drawn formal scripts, exuberant calligraphic riffs, carefully constructed Roman letterforms and aggressive lettering that demanded my full attention."

"It is clear that the increased mainstream interest in typography is pushing designers, illustrators and artists to do interesting things with letters and words," added juror Stephen Coles.

"I am fairly pleased with the work that we selected and I feel that it demonstrates a portion of the range of interesting typography in the world today," said juror Shelley Gruendler. "But there is much more interesting typography out there and I encourage the creators to submit next year and in many years to come."

When asked about the future of typographic design, Coles suggested the challenge for type designers today is the same as it's always been-make something original and useful. "Does it fill a need in a way none of the other thousands of faces do today?"

"We need to teach designers to be better readers. Once they respect the text, they'll want to set it well. "